Too soon to tell.

At this point, I can not say if the officer was justified or not, so I say yes as he is innocent until proven guilty.I don't know if has been released yet but at the time the article was written, the officer's reason why he felt his life in danger had not been released.What I find ridiculous is that the media tends tries to take the authority away from the legal system. Instead of being a trial by jury, it becomes a trial by media. You see, controversy sells papers. The more controversial the story, the more money they make. What what is more controversial, a justified shooting of a criminal or a homicidal police officer? Guess what way they will write the story.At least there is one good note about it. Neither the officer or the dead teen are white so the media has a hard time playing the race card without upsetting a minority.Let's look at how heartless the media is. The found and interviewed a grieving parent. This is common for them to do because selling papers is more important than the people who suffer. It is not surprising that the mother thinks highly of her child. Just about all parents to no matter if their child is an angel or a mass murderer. Most would not accept that their child could be guilty of a crime. Remember the Brown shooting where the mother called him a gentle giant and how wrong that view was when they showed the video of the robbery he committed?I always find a real issue with charging these officers with murder. They tend to miss one of the crucial parts for it to be murder. Sure, the officer was there and had a weapon, but this only gives them opportunity and means but I have yet to hear a believable motive. A reason for the officer to try and kill the person. In the past, they have pushed the race issue but if that was the motive then the officer had so many other times to commit murder. If the motive was because they felt their life was in danger, it would be considered self defense.

Not many people choose to become a police officer because of situations like this.

So first off, I'll ask what the 16 year old was doing breaking into a car and stealing something??? I feel like this was over looked, if he hadn't been doing something ILLEGAL in the first place, he wouldn't have been shot. Police officers have to make a judgement call and decide when the situation is escalating and when to draw the line. He gave him warning to stop, in which he ended up chasing both of them. After it's all said and done, we wonder why someone doing something illegal, disobeying what a policeman said, is shot?? Seriously? If you don't play with fire, you won't get burned.

For your own safety...Don't put an officer of the law in a position where he has to decide whether his own life is in jeopardy.

They have to defend themselves

When a person attacks a law enforcement officer, the officer has a right to defend himself. It's critical that when a person becomes a law enforcement officer, they know that they're able to still defend themselves if they need to. Our culture has become so hating of law enforcement that it's impossible for them to do their jobs. The officer was threatened by Cruz and he was justified in shooting him.

Jose Cruz: Police Officer was Not Justified

A teenager with his life ahead of him, Jose Cruz, is dead, with no future, because a police officer killed him. The officer was correctly charged with murder. While defending him or herself in the line of duty is of course expected and important, police officers are also taught how to incapacitate without killing. One should try and expect to use less force than lethal when dealing with others, especially those younger. You cannot take back a death, once it is caused.

No, It does not appear that he was in danger.

I do not think the officer in question was justified when he shot and killed Jose Cruz. There is no evidence to suggest that his life was in immanent danger. This is the only reason why the officer could fire his weapon. I believe the right decision to arrest the officer was made and will not be up to a jury of his pears to decide his fate.

No, I do not think the police officer was justified in his fatal shooting of Jose Cruz.

No, I do not think the police officer was justified in his fatal shooting of Jose Cruz because the police officer was off duty and shot the teenagers to kill instead of the wound. Officer Ken Johnson shot Cruz twice in the head and the rib cage because he though Cruz and his friend were trying to steal a car. Whether or not that was true, I still do not think the killing of Cruz was justified.